Sassafras/sarsaparilla root beer recipe?

[Masterjuggler]

What I'm betting on is that that it only releases a small portion of its carbonation, because once you release the pressure, there is still all that leftover carbonation still in the soda that makes up the fizz. I could be completely wrong, but that's why I'm only doing it to one bottle, and if it doesn't work out, I can always let it warm back up while I'm drinking the other bottles.

Unless I can figure out a way to add it without taking the cap off, like holding it in a pill capsule on the underside of the cap using a magnet (hmmm... Nah, too elaborate), I think my plan is pretty sound.

 

[djbradle]

Wow that looks great. If you don't mind me asking, how much burdock did you put in for that 4 gallons and what exactly does the gum arabic do? Thanks much and Im glad you liked it and that it all turned out well for you.

I used 1/4 cup for 4 gallons of the burdock. If you haven't smelled the dried root you should. It's a very different aroma but I like it alot. Gum arabic is used for body and mouthfeel.

 

[Crazy8]

Yeah I got a 1/4lb of it because I saw it used in a recipe, in addition to dandelion, and I didn't really like how it turned out. Maybe I had to much. Perhaps I should try again? Oh ok I thought that's what the arabic was for but didn't recall. I use maltodextrin.

 

[djbradle]

Dandelion is the strong and distasteful flavor. It really takes an acquired taste. I don't think I would add it except if I made a dandelion and burdock soda exclusively again. I did one recently and it was very nice, more tonic then soda.

On a similar note your recipe slightly tweaked by me is sooooo good!
Day 5

 

[Crazy8]

Yeah I did try the dandelion and I did not like it one bit. I didn't like the smell but I still thought I would try it and see what happened. Only one way to find out right? lol I love how you went all fancy with your root beer drinking receptacle, very classy. I ham happy to hear that everything has turned out so well with this batch and recipe. I especially love being able to look at my wife and say "See you are the only one that doesn't like it." lol Shes all about her A&W which is ok because I love me some A&W to.

 

[Masterjuggler]

I tried the recipe you posted on the first page, though I cut it in half, added one whole star anise, and accidentally didn't half the nutmeg (so I added twice the nutmeg I was supposed to).

Overall, I'll call it a failed batch because it barely resembles root beer, but it is just barely drinkable.

I'm not sure what was the biggest factor that made it taste wonky, but I know I did a few things wrong (wrong being deviating from the recipe, something I manage to do in EVERYTHING I make or do).

1) I added double the nutmeg the recipe called for.
2) I used sassafras that was dug up in the summer.
3) I used bottles that were sanitized with way too much bleach, then left for a day open to dry, then left for a few days closed until I used them. I'm not actually sure if this is wrong, but I know it's certainly not the most used method.
4) I am only tasting this 6 hours after I put it in the fridge. Maybe that's why?

On a good note, the gelatin seems to be working well. I put it in a bottle six hours ago, and it is definitely clearer and has more crap resting at the bottom then the other bottles. It also looks like it is most carbonated. I'll post comparative pics in two days.

Just something funny; Normally you would add 1/2tsp dissolved in 1 cup of water to 5gal of beer. If I wanted to scale that directly for one bottle, I would need to get 1/80th of a teaspoon in 1/40th of a cup. Instead what I did was I made the full 1/2tsp in 1c water and used a teaspoon to get 1/40th of it for one bottle. I just think it's funny how I actually thought about getting those minuscule amounts at first before I realized I can just take from it once it's made.

EDIT: In the 5 minutes it took me to write this post, I got through half of the first bottle of root beer already got tired of it. Now I just think it's gross. Complete failure. I'll spill out all but a gelatin and a non-gelatin bottle, just so I can take comparative pics in 2 few days.

 

[Crazy8]

Well this can happen to the best of us. I often find my self doing similar things to when it comes to deviating from the original plan or in this case, recipe. There seems like a number of things going on here that could be or all together, caused this to go badly for you. Some of it you might know, and other stuff you may not but here is my thoughts.

* The extra nutmeg may not have done great harm to this batch even after cutting it in half. Might not be what your looking for flavor wise but I don't feel its enough to ruin a batch entirely.
* Sassafras harvested in the summer should come from the twigs and branches, not the roots. With that said, I have heard that Sassafras is BEST harvested in the winter from the roots. Yes more work perhaps, but likely worth it for better product.
* I have never used bleach before to sanitize. I have always used StarSan sanitizer and PBW for a cleaner. The great thing about both of these products is not only do they work awesome, but they are both protein based. This means no rinsing and is better if you don't rinse because the yeast like the protein. I would consider looking into both of those products.
* I also tip ALL of my bottles (bailtops, carboys, and even 2 liter) after running the sanitizer through them and just before putting root beer in them. So they stay upside down until I put root beer in them. I run cleaner through them after consuming the root beer and far before making my next batch.
* It might be ok if you want to taste the batch when you're making it but its going to be quite different after fermentation. In some cases it can taste drastically different depending on the yeast and how long it ferments. So then the only thing that tasting the batch does then is to confirm if that's what the batch usually tastes like before fermentation.

Great to here the gelatin is working out for you. As a word of advice, take the sanitizing thing VERY serious. Take it from someone who knows how much it sucks to put this kind of work into a full 5 gallon batch and then have to throw it ALL down the drain because of something like a yeast infection...yup that's what its called, or poor sanitization. I hate having to do that and its happened more than once. So yes even when you take appropriate steps, it can still happen but the odds are far less and they are less frequent.

Just because I don't like to see people start with a hobby and get discouraged, start with the recipe posted, cut in half if you so wish, but make sure you cut it all in half and don't deviate. That way you get to taste the recipe for how it should be tasted and even if you don't like it, you then can decide what to remove or add from there. This is a great starting recipe and is an altered version of where I started. So with that in mind, you're getting something even slightly better than what I started with.

Oh yeah, I just remembered, I usually end up fermenting for about 2-3 days and then I throw in the fridge for another 2-3 days. I also have tried a process of pasteurization which was successful. So I will be doing that more. My wife doesn't agree with me but the only thing better than root beer, is being able to ALWAYS have it on hand at any given time.

 

[Masterjuggler]

I did let it ferment for 2 days before it went in the fridge. That's how long it took to carbonate.

I'll keep trying to make root beer, one or two (or 5) failed attempts isn't going to deter me from this. I need my root beer lol!!!

I'm getting the 16oz starsan bottle. I only plan on doing 1gal batches until I find a really good recipe, and considering it's 1oz per 5gal water, sanitizing 1gal batches will last me a while. Looks cheapest at amazon as far as I can tell.

I don't however think the sanitation was my problem with this batch. I've been slowly opening, tasting, and spilling out bottles. After 6 bottles of them being consistently gross (I'm keeping the gelatin and a normal bottle to compare), I can't help but think either they were all sterile or all equally dirty. considering I used bleach, I don't think they were all dirty, so it must have been something with my ingredients.

Anywho, here's a pic of the gelatin bottle after 2 days:

You can see the one on the right is lighter and has more crap collected at the bottom.

Speaking of crap at the bottom, should there be this much? You can see all the dark stuff collected at the bottom was put there by the gelatin.

I'm keeping those two bottles in the photos for the next week or so just to see if I can get them any clearer.

I'll try another batch once I get the starsan. This time I'll follow your recipe to the letter.

 

[Crazy8]

Well in regards to all the junk on the bottom, yeah that does look normal. You have to think when you're using roots and nutmeg you will end up with junk on the bottom. I notice with the roots I use, they are usually covered in powder and I don't wash them before hand because I don't want to potentially wash away any flavors. Also I do believe there is some kind of waste from the yeast to but I'm not 100% sure on that. In any case, that does not look abnormal and the idea behind the gelatin is to pull out any of the impurities. I think I would be interested in the possibilities of pulling out impurities THEN carbing. I may have to look into that and trying that. SO far though that's looking good.

 

[pkrath84]

Quick update:

I had a party on Saturday and was hesitant to serve the root beer due to the bitterness... Well a buddy of mine got sneaky and poured a glass for everyone at the end of the night & apparently with the time, the flavors melded and the bitterness went away!

Crazy8 - you got approval from 20 peeps!

 

[Crazy8]

:rockin: That is great news. Im glad everyone enjoyed it and that it all worked out despite your ninja like friends antics...lol Well you now know for sure that you have a solid recipe to build from.

 

[GeorgiaBulldawg]

Hello! I'm interested in making this, but I have a couple questions about the bottling. I've read a lot about exploding bottles with root beer; is this a risk during the 3 days at room temperature, and is there a chance of it blowing up once in the fridge? If the root beer returns to room temp after a few weeks in the fridge, will the yeast continue carbonating?

Thanks for sharing your recipe! I'm excited to try it.

 

[djbradle]

Hello! I'm interested in making this, but I have a couple questions about the bottling. I've read a lot about exploding bottles with root beer; is this a risk during the 3 days at room temperature, and is there a chance of it blowing up once in the fridge? If the root beer returns to room temp after a few weeks in the fridge, will the yeast continue carbonating?

Thanks for sharing your recipe! I'm excited to try it.

Never bottle with only glass unless you have a flip-top or don't mind recapping once a day to check carbonation. Always have one plastic bottle as a tester and understand that even when you throw them into the fridge the yeast will continue to propagate, producing CO2 and alcohol, until the temp of solution is cold enough for the yeast to flocculate (drop out of solution and compact on the bottom). I've had batches carb up in 8 hours or 72 hours. There's too much risk of bombs in following a guideline of 1 day, 2 days, or 3 days. Always test once a day, always.

Yeast will not die until a looooong period of time has passed. Many months could go by. If you bring it back to temp it will start up it's sugar eating producing CO2.

 

[Crazy8]

Never bottle with only glass unless you have a flip-top or don't mind recapping once a day to check carbonation. Always have one plastic bottle as a tester and understand that even when you throw them into the fridge the yeast will continue to propagate, producing CO2 and alcohol, until the temp of solution is cold enough for the yeast to flocculate (drop out of solution and compact on the bottom). I've had batches carb up in 8 hours or 72 hours. There's too much risk of bombs in following a guideline of 1 day, 2 days, or 3 days. Always test once a day, always.

Yeast will not die until a looooong period of time has passed. Many months could go by. If you bring it back to temp it will start up it's sugar eating producing CO2.

This is exactly what I do. I use bail top bottles and I always have at least one 2 liter plastic bottle that I use as a test bottle. Once the plastic becomes very hard to squeeze, its done. By that time I will also crack open a glass bottle to see how much it is carbed and flavor. If all is well, then in the fridge it goes. Recently I tried pasteurization and it worked amazingly. Once in the fridge the yeast go kind of dormant, but not completely. Pasteurization though will kill the yeast. So if you pasteurize, then you can get the carbonation up to the desired amount, pasteurize, and then you will always have root beer on hand and no bottle bombs.

 

[GeorgiaBulldawg]

Thanks for the info guys. I have heard about pasteurizing home brewed soda, but I think I'll just stick with the plastic bottles the first time around. What temps do you use to pasteurize? I've read 190 for 10 minutes, and 160 for 20 minutes. It seems like it's best to do it at as low a temperature as possible to avoid a bottle bursting.

 

[Crazy8]

Thanks for the info guys. I have heard about pasteurizing home brewed soda, but I think I'll just stick with the plastic bottles the first time around. What temps do you use to pasteurize? I've read 190 for 10 minutes, and 160 for 20 minutes. It seems like it's best to do it at as low a temperature as possible to avoid a bottle bursting.

I did 190 for 10 minutes. Worked perfect for me.

 

[GeorgiaBulldawg]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm excited to try out your recipe!

 

[djbradle]

Recently I tried pasteurization and it worked amazingly. Once in the fridge the yeast go kind of dormant, but not completely. Pasteurization though will kill the yeast. So if you pasteurize, then you can get the carbonation up to the desired amount, pasteurize, and then you will always have root beer on hand and no bottle bombs.

I haven't searched your threads yet but if you could outline your process I would like to try it too. Does it reduce carbonation? Did you notice a clearly flocculated bottle after a certain period of time at fridge temps. Boil in irish moss ever?

 

[Crazy8]

I haven't searched your threads yet but if you could outline your process I would like to try it too. Does it reduce carbonation? Did you notice a clearly flocculated bottle after a certain period of time at fridge temps. Boil in irish moss ever?

Process:
-Grab bottles out of fridge (maybe its better to let them warm up to room temp?)
-Heat water up in a deep enough pot, to 190 degrees.
-When target temp is reached, put bottles into pot, but do not crowd.
-Put lid on pot? If you can? I could, so I did.
-Keep stove on but take off of heat so water does not get hotter.
-Set timer to 10 minutes
-After 10 minutes remove bottles (with oven mitt) from pot and set on counter top to cool down.
-Place pot back onto burner and get water temp back up to 190 degrees
-Repeat steps above for remaining bottles until all bottles have been pasteurized.

Does it reduce the carbonation? I would say no. I had some bottles that were carbed perfectly and some that were off a little. When it comes to dropping the yeast into my 16oz bottles I don't have an accurate way, yet, to measure so I use the tip of a knife to scoop up the yeast and eyeball it. So that's probably what led to my inconsistencies in the carbing.

Flocculation? No I have not noticed anything like that after pasteurizing.

Irish moss, I do have, just have not tried it yet. I have every intent to though. Even though I have a solid recipe, there are still certain things I would like to improve on to try and make it even better.

 

[Masterjuggler]

You put the yeast in after bottling? Wouldn't it be easier to put the yeast in the pot right before bottling so you can measure accurately and have a consistent amount of yeast in each bottle?

Do you still use the same method of brewing root beer as you mentioned in this thread? There you say to put the yeast into the pot first, then pour into bottles.

 

[Crazy8]

You put the yeast in after bottling? Wouldn't it be easier to put the yeast in the pot right before bottling so you can measure accurately and have a consistent amount of yeast in each bottle?

Do you still use the same method of brewing root beer as you mentioned in this thread? There you say to put the yeast into the pot first, then pour into bottles.

Good catch. I did not notice that. No do not do it that way. Add the yeast to the carboy/bottle not the pot, ale pale, etc. The reason for this is that if you add the yeast into the entire batch and THEN start filling your carboys and/or bottles, there is no guarantee that there will be consistent and even distribution of the yeast into each container. Thus leading to some bottles being over carbed and others possibly being under carbed. If you fill the carboys/bottles with the root beer first and accurately measure the yeast per container, that's about as close to a guarantee you can get to all of them being equally carbed as the others.

Does that all make sense?

 

[Masterjuggler]

Yeah. I added the yeast to the pot in my batch, and it carbed all the bottles pretty evenly, but I guess I just got lucky. On my next batch I'll add it to the bottles instead.

I'm guessing you just put the yeast in and shake the bottles for a few seconds? How long should it take to be sure it has all dissolved?

 

[Crazy8]

Yeah. I added the yeast to the pot in my batch, and it carbed all the bottles pretty evenly, but I guess I just got lucky. On my next batch I'll add it to the bottles instead.

I'm guessing you just put the yeast in and shake the bottles for a few seconds? How long should it take to be sure it has all dissolved?

Well with Carboys, I will rotate them 3 times in three different positions and shake for 10 seconds on each position...so 30 seconds for carboys. Bottles I will shake for about 10-15 seconds.

 

[djbradle]

Flocculation? No I have not noticed anything like that after pasteurizing.

Basically the ability for yeast to drop out of solution and compact on the bottom.. After time though it will happen naturally and a soda should clear fairly well in the fridge at 40 degrees. It just might take some time. After about a week and a half now the root beer is clearing well.

 

[Crazy8]

Awesome. Yeah I may have to try the moss this weekend if my other hobbies will allow me to. I'm very curious how much clearing up I can do and if it will affect flavor at all.

 

[Masterjuggler]

So it's been a week since I put the gelatin in a bottle and it certainly has gotten clearer, but it can't compete with a filter. Also, there is so much crap resting at the bottom, as soon as I moved the bottle, it started spreading and put chunks of it into the root beer.

The color difference obviously got more... different (can't think of the right word lol).

And light goes through it much easier. I put my phone behind them with a flashlight app turned on so the screen is a bright white.

I tasted both bottles just now because I need them for the next batch anyway, and the gelatin one didn't taste AS nasty, but was still pretty gross.

I should be getting my starsan today so this time I'll follow your base recipe to the letter, and I'll add the yeast to the bottles, not the pot. I also won't be adding any gelatin this time, that was just an experiment. i'll start working on clearing up my rootbeer once I have a recipe that doesn't taste like vomit.

 

[saramc]

Masterjuggler...do both of these bottles contain gelatin?

On a sanitizing note, when you used bleach was it full strength, did you rinse it out and then allow to dry? Bleach and yeast are a bad combo, and you may be tasting/smelling TCA aka cork taint. It can develop pretty quickly. Do not forget that StarSan is just one part of your equation since it is a sanitizer, not a cleaner.

 

[Masterjuggler]

Only the left bottle contained gelatin. It's a comparison between the non-gelatin bottle and the gelatin bottle, both of which have been in a ~35*F fridge for a week at the time those pics were taken.

I definitely used it at full strength. I probably used way too much actually. What I did was I took a funnel, put it on the bottles, and poured in some bleach up until the first line on the bottom of the bottle (kind of hard to see in those pics), which is about 4 or 5 Tbsp per 16oz bottle. Then I filled the rest up with water. If I have to use bleach again for whatever reason, I'll only use a tsp or 1/2tsp per bottle.

I did rinse with hot water (actually it was too hot on the first bottle I rinsed and it shrunk a bit lol) several times, and let it dry upside down on a drying rack, then capped them as soon as I thought they were dry.

I have no way of knowing if it was the bleach reacting with the yeast. I think I got the bleach out of the bottles pretty well because I did use water almost hot enough to shrink the bottles to rinse them, but I know it is hard to totally get bleach off of something.

 

[Crazy8]

This is where using a protein based cleaner and sanitizer is awesome. You don't have to rinse, its actually best if you dont, and the yeast feed off the protein. Its win win.

 

[mart242]

Has anyone here kegged and forced carb this recipe instead of using yeast ? I'm thinking of using gelatin to clarify in a carboy then rack to keg and then force carb.